2011 NBA Draft Combine Shooting Drills Results

This is the first year the results of the shooting drills run at the NBA Draft Combine have been released to the media, and for the most part, these numbers only reinforce what we already know about these prospects.

By no means do the results of these drills have any significant bearing on how these prospects are perceived by scouts, since they would likely look different if we held the same workouts again today, but they do offer an interesting reference point that could give a talent evaluator pause, if only for a moment, when their results deviate from expectations.

At face value, the most interesting shooting drills is the one putting these prospects behind the NBA three-point line, measuring their ability from that distance for conceivably the first time. We'll be archiving the results of these drills and will analyze what, if anything, they meant to the success of these players as rookies when we examine the shooting drill results from the 2012 NBA Draft Combine and beyond.

There were no surprises at the top of the college three-point shooting drill rankings. Jon Diebler and Jimmer Fredette are arguably the top two shooters in the draft. Fredette seems to have unlimited range, while Diebler likes to toe the line, but both players are lights out from NCAA range, whether they're in a game setting or participating in drills. Isaiah Thomas and Charles Jenkins rank highly here, which held true throughout every drill. Thomas, a streak shooter in college, likely benefited from his showing here. DeAndre Liggins' performance is somewhat surprising, showing that the progress he's made as a spot-up shooter from last year (14/44 3P as a sophomore or 32%) to this (36/92 as a junior or 39%) was no fluke.

Klay Thompson finished last in catch-and-shoot drills from college range, despite being widely considered an elite shooter and lauded repeatedly by analysts that were in the gym for his shooting performance. From what we saw when we watched him work out in Los Angeles (article and video coming), it seems safe to say that this was an extremely rare off day for the Washington State product.

Marcus Morris struggled in 3 of the 4 shooting drills held at the combine, and would have looked comparatively better had he joined his twin brother Markieff and competed with the power forwards and centers. For a player so eager to show and tell teams that he is a natural small forward, this probably isn't what he had in mind.

Tobias Harris was an inconsistent shooter in his single season at Tennessee, and while he struggled in these drills, his shot still seems to have potential long-term given his work ethic. As we already knew going in, he has a ways to go in this area.

Andrew Goudelock was the top shooter from behind the NBA line, with the usual suspects finishing around him. Goudelock showed excellent range at Charleston and during the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, and really got going from deep in Chicago. The fact that he will seemingly be able to translate his shooting ability seamlessly to the NBA 3-point line is a big plus.

Jon Deibler drops out of the top-5 here, but we saw him knock down 8 or 9 threes in a row from a step beyond the NBA line in Las Vegas a few weeks ago.

Jimmy Butler makes a somewhat surprising appearance here. He exceeded expectations in the athletic testing, and if he can hit catch and shoot threes like he did at the combine, he'll only add to his resume as a prototypical role-player on both ends of the floor. The Landry Fields comparisons continue.

Travis Leslie takes the bottom spot, while Tyler Honeycutt went from the top-5 to the bottom-5 moving from the college line to the NBA line, likely a product of his lack of strength. E'Twaun Moore ranks surprisingly low here, but was solid in some of the other drills.

Shelvin Mack isn't far behind the pack at 17 makes. Despite being a streaky shooter percentage wise this season, he showed deep range at Butler in many key games, and did little to discourage from the notion that he'll be a major threat from beyond the arc in the NBA.

Marshon Brooks and LaceDarius Dunn run away from the field as the top shooters in the pull-up drillsshowing their virtues as shot-makers with the ball in their hands, something we saw repeatedly in college. Texas teammates Jordon Hamilton and Cory Joseph make an appearance here as well. Hamilton was pretty average across the board, as was Joseph.

Andre Goudelock couldn't have been better in the timed shooting drills. The only player to attempt more shots than he did was Norris Cole, who went 14/22, and no other player was perfect from the floor. Isaiah Thomas continues to fare well in every category.

Cory Joseph returns to the bottom of our list after shooting well in the pull-up drills. Shelvin Mack makes a surprising appearance on the bottom part of these rankings even though he was right around average in the other catch and shoot drills.

Enes Kanter is probably the top prospect to participate in these drills regardless of position, and he starts off near the bottom of the rankings despite being known for his ability to step away from the rim and shoot the ball on occasion. Markieff Morris finished fairly low here as well among first-round prospects.

Jon Leuer is the biggest surprise in this group, as he's among the most promising stretch-fours in this draft. He struggled from deep late last season, but has been working hard on his stroke in LA since the end of the season.

The same players we saw shoot well from the HS line shot well from the college line, with Justin Harper once again heading up the list. The newcomers to the top of the crop are Kanter, Vucevic, and Dunigan. We saw Vucevic workout in LA, and he couldn't miss from beyond the arc then, making it not surprising that he looked good here. Dunigan is a pleasant surprise, since he didn't take many jump shots last season in Estonia.

Near the bottom of the list we find Kenneth Faried and Markieff Morris, who will make their presence felt with their physical play on the interior before they'll be asked to knock down deep jumpers next season. Part of Morris' resume hinges on his virtues as a floor-spacer, though, so he would be well suited shooting the ball better in private workouts. Jordan Williams has improved his stroke since leaving Maryland, but he struggled from beyond the college line. Jeremy Tyler brings up the rear, which isn't surprising considering he's potentially a center long-term, and a very raw one at that.

Malcolm Thomas struggled here, and as we observed at Portsmouth, his jump shot has potential, but he's still working to make it a reliable tool. Kenneth Faried and Rick Jackson are among the top rebounders in this group, and didn't do too much scoring from the midrange off the bounce on the college level, and probably won't in the pros either.

In a draft class lauded for its guards, three exceptionally talented, and wildly different, forward prospects sit in the top six of our mock draft, each taking a very different path to the top, and demonstrating wildly contrasting strengths and weaknesses. So who is the best prospect among the three?